Povodí Vltavy is a state enterprise which in 2026 lowered the water level of the Slapy Reservoir because of a long-lasting drought. According to its director general Petr Kubala, the lowering was caused by an unfavourable hydrological situation.[1] In the Vodní nádrž Husinec in the Prachatice area, the storage volume has been exhausted; according to Kubala the reservoir serves only as a backup source for supplying Prachatice. [3] On 8 October 2026 Kubala said on Czech Television that reservoirs intended primarily for drinking water supply are sufficiently filled and that no restriction of supplies is expected; the waterworks reservoir on the Želivka was, according to him, 80 percent full. [3]
Activities in 2026
The drop in the water level of the Slapy Reservoir exposed places that are otherwise permanently under water. According to Kubala this made it possible to clean these places; as part of the joint action "Ukliďme Slapy" with the Český svaz ochránců přírody and the Český rybářský svaz, the enterprise arranges the removal and environmentally sound disposal of the collected waste. The action is announced for the period from 28 October to 1 November 2026 and is coordinated by the Český svaz ochránců přírody.[1][2] At the Hracholuská přehrada, the outflow was reduced in October 2026 by 0.7 cubic metres per second below the minimum of 2.2 cubic metres per second set by the standard operating rules. [4] The drop in the water level of the Slapy Reservoir also exposed a large number of rare freshwater mussels, and the rescue of mussels threatened by drought on the banks of the reservoir continues. [1] Kubala also said that two to four months of rain would be needed to restore flows in the rivers and raise the levels of reservoirs. [3]
Chronology
- — South Bohemian Region declared a state of drought for its entire territory, and the Husinec reservoir in the Prachatice area is almost emptied because of the long-lasting drought. → ČTK / České noviny ČTK / České noviny
- — The regional drought commission declared a state of water shortage on the Vltava and the Elbe in central Bohemia and allowed the minimum outflow from the Vltava Cascade at the Vrané waterworks to be reduced from 35 to 20 cubic metres per second until 30 April 2027. → ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
- — The storage volume of the Vodní nádrž Husinec in the Prachatice area has been exhausted and the reservoir releases only as much water as flows into it; the director general of Povodí Vltavy, Petr Kubala, said that reservoirs intended for drinking water supply are sufficiently filled. → ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
- — The Český svaz ochránců přírody, the state enterprise Povodí Vltavy and the Český rybářský svaz announced a clean-up of litter exposed on the banks of the Slapy Reservoir after the water level was lowered because of drought; the clean-up is to take place from 28 October to 1 November 2026. → Ekolist.cz Pražský deník
Sources
- Ekolist.cz — 19 October 2026
- Pražský deník
- ČTK / České noviny — 8 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 9 October 2026